I— [ it clicks. the lingering questions he'd had after their first meeting have been answered by her second question, and he winces (way to go, parker). whilst the expression itself isn't visible, it's there in the pause, in the silence before he answers. ]
Friends don't lie, right? [ he repeats, any levity all but gone; an audible inhale, then: ] Yeah. It was my passion at school, and I studied biochemistry at college. The plan was to go into STEM, but things didn't quite work out like that — for a long time, the closest I got was teaching at my old high school. I had a company for a while, but we were more tech focused — on making things to help people.
[ a beat. ] I can't say we — I — don't do experiments, but they're not what you think. I know you've only got my word, but I would never do anything that would hurt anyone. [ he can't say there isn't a human element, because of anything, human trials are always one of the last steps where relevant; he's not even sure if saying 'but consent is always required' would even make it better. ] Anyone that does is a bad scientist, okay?
no subject
Friends don't lie, right? [ he repeats, any levity all but gone; an audible inhale, then: ] Yeah. It was my passion at school, and I studied biochemistry at college. The plan was to go into STEM, but things didn't quite work out like that — for a long time, the closest I got was teaching at my old high school. I had a company for a while, but we were more tech focused — on making things to help people.
[ a beat. ] I can't say we — I — don't do experiments, but they're not what you think. I know you've only got my word, but I would never do anything that would hurt anyone. [ he can't say there isn't a human element, because of anything, human trials are always one of the last steps where relevant; he's not even sure if saying 'but consent is always required' would even make it better. ] Anyone that does is a bad scientist, okay?
I'm sorry, El.